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Now a chip-based system to alert citizen at unmanned level crossing

Known for its several innovations, the Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) has recently developed a chip-based system for Indian Railways (IR) that will avert accidents at unmanned level crossing.

Across India, as many as 613 people have lost their precious life at unmanned level crossing over the past five years. This has compelled IR to seek assistance from ISRO and develop a system wherein citizen will be alerted on a real-time basis avoiding further fatalities.

For this purpose, ISRO has developed a satellite-based chip system that will warn people about approaching trains especially near unmanned level crossings as well as to track the train movements on a real-time basis. The system will be installed in Rajdhani trains. According to ISRO, this system has been installed as a pilot project for Mumbai-Guwahati bound train.

This system will incorporate the use of a hooter, which will be triggered through an integrated circuit (IC) chip as the train is within the 500-m range of the level crossings. The hooters will activate as the train approaches a level crossing, and will become silent once the train crosses. The ISRO-developed chip installed on the locomotives will not only help alert the people on the roads but also the motormen.

Apart from safeguarding people from the unmanned level crossings, the chip will also help keep a real-time track on the train’s movements, which was previously done manually. This move comes with great significance to the fact that close to 10,000 unmanned railway crossings still function in the country, amounting to around 40 per cent of rail-related accidents.

The new arrangement will also prove beneficial to the Indian Railways in mapping the region, coming in handy during accidents where exact location of trains and the topography pertaining to it could be ascertained.